Posts Tagged ‘infant formula’

Sixteen babies undergoing reehydration therapy were examined for enteric pathogens. Salmonella agona was isolated from four, Samonella enteritidis from two, Shiegella boydii from one: neither Campylobacter nor Yersinia were recovered from any of the babies. Three househoolds in which Samonella group B (S. aghona) was isolated from the babies were selected for hazard analysis of food preparation practices. In one house, S. agona was recovered from the feces of the mother and gransmother of the baby and from a kitchen knife, a blender, malagueta (spice) used to flavor milk, a mop and flies. All foods were cooked to 100 C and many were eaten a short time afterwards. Some foods were held at ambient room temperature until the arrival of an absent family member or kept overnight. During the holding interval, large numbers of microorganism accumulated in the foods, often exceeding 10, 000,000/gh. Bacillus cereus was recovered from 7 of 16 samples of cooked foods. The sample of “moro” (rice and beans mixture) had a count of 1,500,000/g. Staphyl9ococcus aureus was isloated for 11 smaples; a sample of milk had a count of great than 100,000/g. Critical control points for milk formula were heating, holding after heating, cleaning and disinfecting bottles, nipples and pans used to store milk, and utensils used to dispense the milk.

Hazard analyses of food preparation practices were conducted in three household in a new settlement in the rocky, dusty hillsides at the outskirts of Lima, Peru. These analysis consisted of watching all steps of preparation, recording temperatures throughout these steps, and collecting samples of the food and testing for common foodborne pathogens and indicator organisms.l The residents had migrated from different regions of the country: consequently, they prepared different foods. These included soya cereal, milk formula, rice and carrots for feeding a baby who had diarrhea, soups, masked potatoes with spinach, carrot and beet salad, cow;s foot soup, beans, rice and mixture of beans and rice. The temperatures attained were high enough to kill vegetative forms of foodborne pathogens, but not heir spores. During the interval between cooking in the morning and serving at either lunch or supper time, foods were held either on unheated ranges or in unheated ovens. This interval was long enough to permit some bacterial multiplication, but apparently not to massive quantities. Just before the evening meal, food were reheated to temperature that usually exceeded 70 C. rice, however, was either served cold or if reheated, the center temperature rose a few degrees only. Critical control points for preparation of family meals are cooking, holding between cooking and serving, and reheating. Critical control points for milk formula for babies are using recently-boiled water for the formula, cleaning and boiling bottles and nipples, and of particular importance, time of holding at room temperature.

Infant-feeding practices and their relationship with diarrheal and other diseases in Huascar (Lima), Peru.

Brown KH, Black RE, Lopez de Romaña G, Creed de Kanashiro H.

Instituto de Investagacion Nutricional, Lima, Peru.

Erratum in: Pediatrics 1989 May;83(5):678.

Longitudinal studies of the feeding practices and morbidity from infectious diseases of 153 Peruvian newborns from an underprivileged, periurban community were completed during their first year of life. Feeding practices were assessed by monthly questionnaires, and illnesses were identified by thrice-weekly, community-based surveillance. All infants were initially breast-fed, but only 12% were exclusively breast-fed at 1 month of age. At 12 months of age, 86% of children still received some breast milk. Incidence and prevalence rates of diarrhea in infants younger than 6 months of age were less among those who were exclusively breast-fed compared with those who received other liquids or artificial milks in addition to breast milk. The diarrheal prevalence rates doubled with the addition of these other fluids (15.2% v 7.1% of days ill, P less than .001). Infants for whom breast-feeding was discontinued during the first 6 months had 27.6% diarrheal prevalence. During the second 6 months of life, discontinuation of breast-feeding was also associated with an increased risk of diarrheal incidence and prevalence. Upper and lower respiratory tract infections occurred with lesser prevalence among exclusively breast-fed younger infants. The prevalences of skin infections by category of feeding practice were not as consistent, but exclusively breast-fed infants tended to have fewer skin infections during the initial months of life and older infants who continued to breast-feed had fewer infections than those who did not. None of the results could be explained by differences in the socioeconomic status of the infants’ families.

Powdered infant formula is not sterile. It may contain bacteria that can cause serious illness in infants. By preparing and storing powdered infant formula correctly, you can reduce the risk of illness. This leaflet contains new information to help you prepare cup feeds from powdered infant formula as safely as possible.

Should I feed formula from cups or from bottles? If you live in an area where sanitation and clean water are a problem, cup-feeding is a safer option than bottle-feeding. This is because the teats and screw tops of bottles are more difficult to clean and can trap harmful bacteria that could make infants ill.